Heliophysics Big Year: Education and Public Outreach Reports

The Heliophysics Big Year is a campaign that celebrates the Sun’s influence across the entire solar system, including Earth. It began in October 2023 with an annular solar eclipse in North America, continued with a total solar eclipse in April 2024, and will run through December 2024, when NASA’s Parker Solar Probe will make its closest approach to the Sun. This campaign fosters a wide range of Education and Public Outreach (EPO) activities aimed at making heliophysics science and information accessible to all, thereby promoting broader awareness of heliophysics. This Research Topic gathers heliophysics EPO activities conducted before and during the Heliophysics Big Year, with the goals of introducing current EPO efforts, sharing their results and lessons with the heliophysics community, encouraging future EPO collaborations, and maintaining momentum beyond the Heliophysics Big Year campaign. We welcome a variety of article types supported by the Frontiers journal, including, but not limited to, original research, methods, reviews and mini reviews, perspectives, data reports, brief research reports, general commentaries, and opinions. Topics of interest may include:- Reviews of Heliophysics Big Year activities.- Citizen science projects and their influence on heliophysics research- Heliophysics EPO programs: science outcomes, societal impacts, and lessons learned.- Perspectives and strategies for advancing future EPO activities- Design, implementation, and performance of low-cost instruments for heliophysics EPO efforts.Prof. Patricia Reiff is the owner of a portable planetarium company, ePlanetarium, that distributed free a show, "Totality", seen by more than 140,000 people. All other Topic Editors declare no competing interests. Topic editors: Hyunju Kim Connor, Michael S Kirk, Gareth Perry, Patricia H Reiff Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/68226/heliophysics-big-year-education-and-public-outreach-reports